Key Points: Lawmakers are contemplating providing financial assistance to state and local governments in the next stimulus bill. Over the past decade, most states balanced budgets or ran surpluses. Some, however, did not. The map shows how many annual budget deficits each state ran between 2004 and 2018. Persistent deficits as well as unforeseeable events […]

Key Points: The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.7% as the economy adds 245,000 jobs in November. Consensus among economists was a 0.1% decline, but in reality the decline was 0.2%. This is the seventh consecutive monthly decline in unemployment. Unemployment rate is now 8% lower than April’s peak.

Key Points: Manufacturers’ new orders for durable goods rose 1.3% in October, exceeding economists expectations of 0.9%. This is the 6th consecutive month of gains, indicating demand and recovery in the manufacturing sector. Shipments for durable goods also rose by 1.3% and are now 0.6% above pre-pandemic levels. The Right Facts will continue to monitor […]

Key Points: The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) captures business conditions in the manufacturing sector. Readings above 50 imply the economy is expanding while readings below 50 imply economic contraction. Manufacturing PMI increased to 56.7 in November from 53.4 in October. The 3.7 gain exceeded the consensus among economists of a 0.3 decline. This is […]

Key Points: Unemployment rates fell in October in 37 states, rose in 8 states, and remained stable in 5 states as the U.S. unemployment rate fell by 1.0% points over the month to 6.9%. Hawaii still has the highest unemployment rate at 14.3%, followed by Nevada at 12.0%, and New York at 9.6%. Nebraska still […]

Key Points: The Survey of Consumer Finances (SFC) recently released data showing the student debt situation in America. The data show that 21.37% of Americans had student loan debt in 2019. The top 2 income quintiles account for 53.9% of student loan debt, leaving the bottom 3 income quartiles with 46.1% of student loan debt. […]

Key Points: Presidential nominee Joe Biden has announced that he would rejoin the Paris climate accord on Day 1 if he wins the White House. Analysis from the Heritage Foundation found that rejoining this agreement would have massive impacts on the economy, including: An overall loss of nearly 400,000 jobs, half of which would be […]

Key Points: The unemployment rate is now lower than at any point during the first term of the last administration. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in October as the economy added 638,000 jobs. At the same point in time under the previous administration, the unemployment rate was 7.2%. The economy has recovered over […]

Key Points: The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.9% as the economy adds 638,000 jobs in October. Consensus among economists was a 0.34% decline, but in reality the decline was 1.0%. This is the sixth consecutive monthly decline in unemployment.

Key Points: COVID-19 hit every major economy around the world, but the U.S. has experienced the least economic contraction of any G7 nation. U.S. GDP is expected to decline by the lowest of any G7 country at 3.6% in 2020, followed by Japan at 5.3%, and Germany at 6.0%. Italy is expected to decline by […]

Key Points: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures total goods and services produced in the U.S.. The GDP fell 31.4% in the second quarter due to COVID-19. Now, the Commerce Department reported the GDP expanded 33.1% in the third quarter, surpassing economists’ consensus of 32%. This is the largest gain on record, surpassing the 16.7% burst […]

Key Points: Unemployment rates fell in September in 30 states, rose in 8 states, and remained stable in 12 states as the U.S. unemployment rate fell by 0.5% points over the month to 7.9%. Hawaii had the highest unemployment rate at 15.1%, followed by Nevada at 12.6%, and California at 11%. 34 states had jobless […]

Key Points: A new Gallup poll of registered voters found that the majority of Americans say they are better off now than four years ago. 56% of respondents said they are better off now, while 32% said they are worse off. Ronald Regan asked the question in 1980 during his presidential campaign and since then […]

Key Points: September retail sales increased 1.9% from August, beating the 0.7% increase expected by economists. Auto sales, which account for 20% of all retail sales, spiked 3.6% in September. Excluding auto sales, retail sales grew by 1.5%, also well above the 0.5% consensus. Clothing and accessories saw the largest gains, rising by 11%, and […]

Key Points: The chart above compares the change in Manufacturing employment during the current and previous administrations. During the previous administration, manufacturing employment decreased by 508K. During the current administration, manufacturing employment has decreased by 151K. Prior to April’s downturn due to COVID-19, 496K manufacturing jobs had been added. Since April, manufacturing employment has consecutively […]

Key Points: The U.S. economy is continuing to rebound after COVID-19. Consensus among economists expected a 0.2% decline to a national 8.2% unemployment rate. In reality, the unemployment rate declined by 0.5% to 7.9% in September and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661K. This is the fifth consecutive monthly decline in unemployment.

Key Points: The 2020 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report was recently released and the data shows the rapidly growing economic contribution of Latinos living in the U.S.. If U.S. Latinos were an independent country, they would hold the 8th largest GDP in the world. The total GDP of U.S. Latinos was $2.6 trillion in 2018, […]

Key Points: Unemployment rates fell in August in 41 states, rose in 2 states, and remained stable in 7 states as the U.S. unemployment rate fell by 1.8% points over the month to 8.4%. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in August at 13.2%, followed by Rhode Island at 12.8%, and Hawaii and New York […]

Key Points: Manufacturing employment saw a resurgence under the current administration before the COVID pandemic. The previous administration had a net loss of 494K manufacturing jobs from January 2009 to Dec 2016. That means the current administration has added 270K more manufacturing jobs, even with COVID.

Key Points: Consensus among economists expected a 0.8 point decrease to 98. In reality, NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (SBOI) increased 1.4 points in August to 100.2. August’s SBOI also exceeded the historical 46-year average.

Key Points: The U.S. economy is continuing to show signs of a rebound. Consensus among economists expected a 9.8% unemployment rate. In reality, the unemployment rate declined by 1.8% to 8.4% in August and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.4M. This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

Key Points: U.S. consumer spending increased 1.9% in July, beating economists’ expectations of a 1.5% increase. Consumer spending has increased for the last 3 months, and is up 17.5% from April. Personal income also beat the expected 0.2% decline and increased 0.4% in July.

Key Points: New home sales rose 13.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 901K units last month, the highest since December 2006. This was well above economists’ estimate of a 1.3% increase. June’s new home sales was also revised to 791K units from the previously reported 776K units.

Key Points: July retail sales increased 1.2% from June for the third consecutive monthly increase. While lower than expected, retail sales have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Electronics stores saw the largest spike at 22.9%. Restaurants and bars also increased 5.0% in July, a positive sign of recovery.

Key Points: President Trump signed an executive order to extend unemployment benefits through the end of the year. States are expected to cover $100, or 25%, of the cost of the unemployment benefits. However, some states are fighting back because they are unable to cover this cost. The Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector […]

Key Points: The U.S. continues to see record monthly jobs gains. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2% in July as the economy gained 1.8 million jobs. This was the third largest monthly gain on record, behind June and May 2020.

Key Points: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.8M in July. This is the third highest monthly gains on record. The unemployment rate declined by 0.9% to 10.2% in July.

Key Points: U.S. pending home sales increased in June for the second consecutive month. Relative to June 2019, they’re up 6.3%. Relative to May 2020, they’re up 16.6%. All four regions of the country saw growth in June, but year-over year growth varies. The Northeast grew 54.4% in June, but still down 0.9% from a […]

Key Points: After three consecutive months of decline, existing home sales rebounded 20.7% in June. The median home price increased 3.5% year-over-year. Total housing inventory also increased in June, up 1.3% from May.

Key Points: The June jobs report smashed expectations. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 11.1% in June as the economy gained 4.8 million jobs. This was the largest monthly gain on record, unseating May 2020.

Key Points: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4.8M in June. This is the highest monthly increase in jobs on record. The unemployment rate declined by 2.2% to 11.1% in June.

Key Points: May retail sales increased 17.7% from April, exceeding the 8% forecast by Dow Jones. This was the largest increase in month-over-month growth ever recorded, well above the previous record of 6.7% from October 2001. Clothing stores saw the largest spike at 188%. Food services and drinking establishments saw a 29.1% increase in May, […]

Key Points: The map above shows the state expenditures on Police, per capita. The District of Columbia, New York, and Alaska have the highest expenditures per capita. Kentucky, West Virginia, and Arkansas have the lowest expenditures per capita. Overall, U.S. states spend $354 per capita on police, or 3.74% of their total expenditures.

Key Points: The May jobs report exceeded expectations. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May as the economy gained 2.5 million jobs. This was the largest monthly gain on record.

Key Points: The U.S. Economy is beginning to show signs of a rebound. Consensus among economists expected a 20% unemployment rate with 8.5M jobs lost. In reality, the unemployment rate fell to 13.3% with 2.5M jobs added.

Key Points: The 2008-2009 bailouts imposed significant macroeconomic costs. Indirect effects resulted in significant distortions to the economy as a whole. The Right Facts will continue to monitor similar ramifications due to this year’s stimulus packages.

Key points: House Democrats unveiled a $3 trillion stimulus package, dubbed the Heroes Act, which includes a provision to remove the SALT cap for 2 years. 86 Percent of the total tax reduction from the state and local tax (SALT) cap lift goes to rich taxpayers making over $500,000; though they are just one percent […]

KEY POINTS: Amid fallout from COVID-19, the IRS has disbursed payments to American households throught the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) program. The map shows state-by-state EIP payments per person through April 17. These per capita averages have likely increased, as EIP payments continued past April 17. ECONOMIST CORNER: The federal government has a number of […]

KEY POINTS: Economists have estimated recent declines in employment. One estimate indicates 52.2% of Americans were employed in April. If this estimate is correct, the share of Americans employed is the lowest on record. The chart shows this estimated value for April along with historical data through March 2020. ECONOMIST CORNER: Official labor force metrics […]

Key Points: Ten fiscal years comprise the timeframe spanning 2009 through 2018. The map shows how many annual budget deficits each state ran between 2009 and 2018. Persistent deficits as well as unforseeable events contribute to a state’s fiscal situation. 2018 is the most recent year for which comprehensive state budget data are available.

Key Points: The chart shows state revenues as a share of expenses between fiscal years 2004 and 2018. Most states balanced budgets or ran surpluses. Some, however, did not. The data predate anything related to COVID-19.

KEY POINTS: New unemployment claims have surged in recent weeks. For each state, the chart shows the ratio of initial unemployment claims filed in the most recent week for which the data offer full coverage (ending in March 28th) to the number filed in the first week of full coverage in 2020 (ending in January […]